Conferring



Conferring is an essential element of reader’s and writer’s workshop. Between sitting in on the third grade teachers share their strategies of conferring, to reading about their best practices, this semester I have gained invaluable knowledge about efficient and effective conferring and practice it myself. Lucy Caulkins defines three different types of conferences in the first book of her series, __The Nuts and Bolts of Teaching Writing__. Content conferencing is an opportunity for the teacher to learn more about the child’s content of writing and help them with whatever is lacking in development. Expectation conferences are when the teacher does some research on the child usually through discussion, and then has the child transfer their thinking into writing. Lastly, process and goal conferences are designed to teach advances learner’s new strategies and others to establish new goals. While in my field placement, most of my conferring was content conferring as the approach was imparted to me by my classroom teacher and you. Within conferring in readers and writers workshop, one must always let the child hold and read their own work. When assessing the content of the child’s work, I have been taught to inform students of what they are doing well and then what they must improve upon. To organize this data and assure that she has reached every student, my teacher notes her compliment and criticism on a gridded chart. Conferences are used for a variety of purposes just as they have different structures for both readers and writers workshop. Despite the difference, you instructed us that they at least share the following components: research child intensions, deicide what and how you will teach, teach the children by starting the children on what you want them to do and lastly link the skills students have learned here to future writings or readings. Conferring is an important piece of the writing process and should not go undone for the services it provides our students in becoming more established writers. “When we give children both rich, rigorous learning environments and direct, intimate one-on-one coaching, we tap an extraordinary source of power” (Caulkins, 62). Because of its many benefits to developing students writing into superior works, conferring with my students will be a regular occurrence when students practice a reading strategy or amidst the writing process. Caulkins different types of conferencing and your elements of conferencing will assist me in reaching out to all readers and writers to provide them with feedback that will enhance their writing and reading skills forevermore.